Bulgaria pushes Australian bus bomb link

SOFIA: Bulgaria has given Europol the names of two suspects - one an Australian - in a bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists last year, with hopes the police agency can trace their movements and uncover how they financed the attack, the country's Interior Minister said.

Bulgaria has also asked Lebanese authorities to arrest and extradite the two suspects, who are believed to be living in Lebanon, an official said.

The July 18 bombing in the Black Sea resort of Burgas also killed a Bulgarian bus driver and a suspected bomber. The names of the two other suspects, believed to be alive, have not been released.

A Bulgarian report last week said investigators had ''well-grounded reasons to suggest'' the two belonged to the militant wing of Hezbollah. The report said they had been living in Lebanon for years, one with a Canadian passport and the other with an Australian one.

The identity of the suspect who died in the bombing is unknown even though his DNA samples have been shared with foreign intelligence agencies.

In Sofia, Stanimir Florov, the head of an anti-terrorism unit, said on Tuesday there was ''categorical'' evidence the man was not a suicide bomber. Authorities suspect he detonated the bomb accidentally or that a colleague did so remotely.

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''If he was a kamikaze, he would have entered the bus packed with 47 passengers and blown himself up, causing a huge death toll,'' Mr Florov said..

Israel has accused Iran, which is said to support Hezbollah, of involvement. Iran and Hezbollah denied any role.